Swept Away
by singingrain
Summary: Kagome is constantly swept away by the different things in her life. There's froggy pyjamas, rabid grandmas, and a crazy corporate leader. Oh, and did I mention she has to deal with probably the most stuck executive in the world? [SessKag]
1. Chapter 1

Kagome slammed her fist down her cheap alarm clock, effectively smashing the small electronic with the flashing _8:00_ quiet. She groaned as she rolled over in her twin sized bed, falling off the edge and landing with a thump on the floor, tangled in her white down comforter.

She thrashed around until she had removed herself from her early morning captor, glaring at it unmercifully all the while. Kagome flopped back onto her bed, and stretched lazily like a cat in the chilly December morning air.

The ringing phone in the kitchen interrupted her thoughts of simply falling back asleep, and she rolled off the bed again, this time landing gracefully on her feet.

She dashed quickly to kitchen, hoping to god that she had shut the blinds on the windows last night. She normally left them open during the day, enjoying the way the sun always soaked into her bones and lifted her spirits, but right now she was running through the house clad in nothing more than an old, overly large tee-shirt and a pair of underwear, and she didn't want to give her peeping neighbor, Miroku, a show. He was already perverted enough as it was, she didn't want to encourage him. That man needed a hobby. Or a girlfriend. He said he was a monk, but he was just as likely to be a monk as Kagome was to be an ancient powerful miko. That is to say, virtually impossible.

Luck was partly on her side that day, as she had managed to remember to close most of the larger windows. She snaked her way through the house, artfully dodging any that were left open, and despite the fact that she had a small house, this was a time-consuming task.

She finally found her way to the tiny kitchen, it being the residence of the only phone in her humble abode. She crouched behind a counter, pulled the phone off the hook, pressed it to her ear, and grumbled a greeting, only to be met by an angry outcry assaulting her ears.

"What took you so long to answer the phone?! I'm paying for these minutes you know!" Souta's voice yelled out through the speaker.

Kagome sighed, and pulled a nearby floor mat underneath her, not liking the cold sensation of the tile on her bare feet. She sat down on it huffily, and yelled right back.

"Well, soooorry for running down here at the expense of possibly being peeped on to answer the phone!"

"Sheesh, Kags, you don't have to yell."

Kagome rolled her eyes and started to crawl over to the refrigerator, but sighed dramatically in defeat as the phone cord stopped her mere inches away from the handle.

"You're keeping me away from the fridge. Speak now or forever hold your peace."

On the other end of the line, Souta laughed robustly, while choking out something about watching too many weddings in Kagome's romance movies. Kagome groaned, and slumped back to lean on the cabinet near the phone.

"No, seriously, what do you want? I thought you were off in France, having a wonderful time in La-La Land while showing off your art to various dealers," Kagome said teasingly to her younger brother.

"Well, I was," Souta admitted sheepishly to his sister, "But I got knocked back into reality. I ran out of money, and I just barely convinced Mom to send me enough to get back to Japan." Then his toned cheered up and he happily chirped, "So guess what? I'm comin' back tomorrow!"

Kagome's eyes went wide with horror as she gathered in this information.

"Please don't tell me…" she began desperately, but was cut off by an enthusiastic Souta.

"Yup! I'm going to be staying with you again!"

Kagome let her head fall and hit the cabinet behind her. She looked up at the ceiling and let out a soft "ow" before returning her attention back to the person on the phone.

"Do you _**have**_ to?" she asked desperately.

Souta let out a devious cackle and replied, "Not unless you want mom to find out about that time in high school where I caught you in the shrine well kissing Inu-"

"OK, OK!" Kagome cut in, her face beet red. "You can stay with me. But only until you get enough money to buy your own place, or at least rent one," she said, recovering from her flustered state. "Got it?"

Souta did a mock salute despite the fact Kagome couldn't see him, and barked out, "Yes, ma'am!"

There was an exchange of words in the background, and Souta said he needed to go.

"My cab's here to take me to the airport," he explained. "Bye, Kags! See you soon!"

Kagome grumbled a "yeah, can't wait," and reached up over the counter, hanging up the phone. She once again made her way on her hands and knees over to the refrigerator, now being free from the annoying restraints of the phone cord. She brought her hand up to the handle of the food vault, and pulled it open. Freezing air rushed over her and her stomach made its plea known by growling loudly.

"I'm with ya, buddy," she said patting her stomach fondly, "We need to eat all the good stuff now, so Souta can't get it later."

A mischievous grin set onto her face as she pulled a square plastic container. She would have to eat the better food quickly, before her brother and his bottomless pit of a stomach got here and devoured all of her food. It was the same every time he came. She would start with a well-stocked fridge for the rest of the month, and then he would show up, inhaling all of it in less than a week.

But not this time.

She would make sure that when he got here, hers would be the most sparsely stocked refrigerator of all time, even though she had just gone to the store yesterday. She bounded up, intent on popping her newly acquired package in the microwave, when a thought stuck her and she hurriedly fell back down the floor.

She had yet to change into decent clothes, some of the blinds were still open, and she could practically smell her neighbor at his window with a pair of binoculars pressed to his face.

Kagome sneaked back across the house, rolling around James Bond style and letting out a giggle every here and there, feeling like a little girl again. When she arrived at her bedroom, she shut the door behind her and, putting her back to it, slid down to the floor letting out a sigh of relief.

She gazed at her inviting bed longingly, but shook her head, clearing it of dream-filled thoughts, and told herself no. She was up already; she might as well get something useful done.

She did have a job interview later in the day, but that wasn't until the afternoon. She currently had a part time job at a well-off restaurant downtown as a waitress, but she had recently been fired from her full time job as a secretary at the nearby law firm. Her job interview was supposedly a webcam one, and she was a little nervous about that. But she had waited a whole day in line just to get the interview, and she'd be damned if she didn't nail the thing and get the job at Tashio Inc.

She pulled her shirt over her head, determination set in her features, and rummaged through her closet for something to go out in the cold in. She donned a pair of dark jeans, a flowing tank top, and a cut off shoulder jacket. She picked up her night shirt to throw it in the dirty clothes, and noticed she had been wearing it inside out. It was a shirt Inuyasha had given her, back when they were dating, and it read,

"Life isn't like a box of chocolates… It's more like a jar of jalapeños. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow!"

This was his idea of a romantic gift.

Kagome shook her head as she tossed it in the laundry basket. It was no wonder why she dumped him. She just regretted it took her all the way from the beginning of high school to almost the end of the last year of high school to realize he was sneaking around with her cousin. She really hated Kikyou sometimes, but ultimately this time she was glad for her cousin's interfering.

She went to the bathroom to finish up getting ready, and as she put her hair into a sloppy bun (all other efforts to control the bed-head were in vain), she thought about her to-do list today. It was Saturday, which meant only the late shift at the French Dove, the restaurant she worked at, so she could spend the rest of the day off.

"Yeah, right," she snorted, in between applying eye shadow and mascara. She had things she needed to get done, the most important being Christmas shopping. The holiday was fast approaching, and she didn't even want to think about the mad rush toward the last few days. And plus, she had that important video interview in the afternoon, and she had heard once you had managed to land a job there, you were practically set for life.

Her stomach growled in protest as the put the finishing touches on her personage, and she remembered her earlier resolution. She made her way back to the kitchen, and this time as she passed them, she opened up the blinds on the windows, letting in the relaxing morning sun. She got out a plate and recovered her forgotten container on the counter, and promptly stuck it in the microwave while fishing some more food out of the refrigerator.

She gulped down a rather large bottle of sparkling fruit juice, and kept rummaging around to find something else. She jumped a little when the microwave beeped its finale, and hit her head on the shelf above her. A package of hotdogs shifted from their position and fell off the edge to the floor from the movement, but went unnoticed as Kagome shut the refrigerator door and turned her attention to the microwave. She opened the small door, pulled out a steaming plate, and headed over to the two-seater table to fully appreciate her meal.

But as she started over there, her foot knocked against something squishy and cold, and she looked down to discover the forgotten sausages. She picked them up happily and bounced over to the table with an extra spring in her step. She had completely forgotten she had them, and it would be an understatement to say she loved them. Actually, she practically adored anything that was guaranteed to give her a heart attack in her later years. She was a junk food addict.

She sat down, and ate her frozen meal first, not wanting it to get too cold. Then she dived into the hotdogs, still cold, devouring three in four seconds flat. After she was done, she sat back in the chair, and patted her slightly protruding stomach contentedly.

She got up and threw away the meal container and placed the hotdogs lovingly back into the refrigerator. She snatched a scrap of paper that had been pathetically holding onto the outside of the fridge labeled "x-mas", grabbed her car keys from the hook on the wall near the door, and slipped on a pair of closed toe black heels.

She locked her house, otherwise she'd come back to Miroku panty-diving in her room, and gathered her sweater closer to her as she power-walked to her car, the light sprinkling of snow crunching under her shoes as went.

She fumbled with frozen fingers trying to get the key to properly go in the lock, and yelled out in triumph when she was successful, pumping the air with her fists in victory. Kagome flopped down into her small car, fervently wishing she had a car with heated seats.

She managed to get the car started after several failed attempts, and backed it out of the driveway, facing her Saturday head on.

Only…not really.

Not even two feet out of her driveway, a car comes zipping along at some ungodly speed and slams into the back of her car, sending her skidding into her adjoining lawn.

Kagome's head went to the side, bashing into the window.

When her car came to a halt, she released her death grip on the wheel, and opened her door shakily. She got out and patted herself down, making sure she was still in one piece, then forcefully kicked her means of transport.

"You stupid car!" she yelled heatedly at it, "I get hit and the freaking AIRBAGS don't even go off!"

The man who hit her walked up to her then, and she gaped at him blatantly. Was he indestructible or something? The front end of his car was completely totaled, and here he was, striding toward her in a suit with not a single scratch, or even a wrinkle.

He looked at her with outright disgust, and told her staring was rude. Then he went on, all without asking if she was alright, about trading information. He handed her a packet that he produced out of his inside jacket pocket, and Kagome went around to the passenger side of her car to get the insurance information out of the glove box. She re-emerged a few seconds later with it, and handed it over to the impatiently waiting man. He handed her a card, and she looked down at it. It read: Onigumo Naraku, Criminal Justice Lawyer.

'_Spider Monster,'_ Kagome thought, _'Well, that__ explains why he gives me the creeps.'_

"Is there a problem," here he glanced down at her information, "Miss Higurashi?" he asked curtly. Kagome face grew flushed.

"Ah!" She waved one hand frantically in front of her face, embarrassed. "I-it's n-n-nothing!"

"I thought so," he said, flipping open his cell phone to begin dialing a number. Kagome shuffled her feet nervously, and he looked at her once again with revulsion. He told her she could leave, and he would get back to her later. She had one foot already in the car when he spoke up again.

"By the way, Miss Higurashi," he said coldly, his phone still ringing, "You're head is bleeding."

Kagome brought her hand quickly up to the side of her head that hit the car, and it came back down with blood. She let out an "eep!" and barreled back to the front door of her house.

The last thing she heard as she crossed into her dwelling was:

"Hello? Yes. I'm going to need a tow truck again."

---

**You like? This originally started out as a random idea when I got sick, and was SUPPOSED to be a one-shot, but my crazed little brain would not allow for that, and it has turned into something slightly longer. I'm just not sure how much longer, though. It probably won't be over three or four chapters.**

**I'm sorry if I portrayed ****Inuyasha**** or ****Kikyou**** in an unpleasant manner. ****Inuyasha**** is not "bad" in this ****fic****, but ****Kikyou**** may ****be(****I haven't decided yet), simply because of the fact I need another antagonist. Sorry for you ****Kik**** fans out there. On another note, I'm not sure if I have the correct translation of ****Onigumo**** as "spider monster". Can someone who knows please tell me?**

**Please review! I need to know if I should continue this or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome stared in shock at the raving child and elderly woman fighting over the last Tickle Me Elmo doll. She saw a desperate mother and a burly father join into the fray, and Kagome double-checked her list. Yep, that's what her four year old cousin wanted.

Kagome speculated over her sanity as she dove headfirst into the madness.

---

A couple of bite marks, a bruised hip, a bald spot on her head, and one Tickle Me Elmo doll later, Kagome stood victorious upon a store-employee-only step ladder waving her purchase above her head and singing a familiar Queen song. And the "we" part of it, of course, was referring to the Elmo and herself.

"Weeee are the champions, weeeee are the chaaaaaampions! No time for looooooosers,"

Here she glared down are her pouting audience.

"'Cause weee are the chaaampions, of the woooooooorld!"

Her spectators stalked off, and Kagome stepped down, a grin adorning her face similar to a cat that had recently eaten the family's prize pet canary. She practically **_purred_** as she strolled out of the store, humming slightly and swigging her bad around merrily.

She glanced down at her list for Souta's present, and her happy visage quickly turned into a scowl.

For one, how did you even pronounce that? She turned the corner of the mall and made her way into an electronic store. Hmm…while she was here, she may want to think about getting a new alarm clock, since the last one had recently, oh how would you say it, ceased to exist? She tapped a nearby employee on the shoulder, and he turned around and asked what she needed help with.

"Can you show me where the alarm clocks are? And if possible, a cheap one. I have a feeling it won't last long," Kagome said with an apologetic smile. The man gave her a knowing chuckle and led her to an aisle near the power tools (tell me that isn't convenient), and took the lowest-priced one off the shelf and handed it to her.

"Anything else?" he asked politely.

"Actually," Kagome squinted down at her list, "could you help me find a… Whe? Wie? Wei? Weh? Whu? Wee?"

The man died laughing. "You mean the Wii?"

Kagome looked up brightly. "Yeah, that's it! Can you tell me where to get one?!"

His expression grew somber, and he regrettably informed her that they did not have any in stock currently, but they were getting a shipment in tomorrow, and if she started waiting in line tonight, she could probably snag one.

"Start waiting tonight?!" she exclaimed incredulously, "You're joking, right?!"

And thus Kagome walked out of the electronic store empty-handed, excluding the new torture victim… ahem… I mean alarm clock.

Her next stop would most likely leave her begging out on the street. It was: the Coach store. Her mother had requested a new Coach purse for Christmas this year, and Kagome could practically feel her pocket get lighter already. It was a good thing she had been saving for a while for a something like this.

She went in with a generally positive attitude and a picture her mother had supplied her with. She went up the first salesperson she saw, and showed her the picture. The woman let out a dainty sniff and promptly ignored her to run over to a customer who looked wealthier.

Kagome sighed, and figured she's better get looking if she wanted to find the purse anytime soon.

---

Kagome put her bags in the back, then slumped down into the driver's seat. She kicked off her shoes and rubbed her feet back to life while thinking.

Maybe an online job interview wasn't that bad? Surely it was a good thing she didn't have to wear heels. Actually, now that she thought about it, she probably only had to wear a work-suitable low cut shirt.

A woman should use all of her assets to get what she wants.

Kagome glanced at her clock on the dashboard. It read _3:12_. The interview was in less than an hour, so with one last sigh, she started her car up and took off towards her house.

She made it back this time without incident, and once in the door, she immediately went into the process of primping.

She reapplied some make-up that had been worn off in her shopping struggles, and fixed her hair into a neat bun. She dug into the depths of her closet to produce a maroon colored shirt and black work blazer. For her bottoms, she simply grabbed a pair of short little boxers that had chibi cartoon frogs all over them. The webcam really only aims at her face anyway.

She started out to go to the kitchen, but thought better of being barefoot, and donned her matching froggy slippers to keep her feet warm on the freezing tile. She grabbed her laptop on her way out, and then found her way to the breakfast table and got comfortable.

She took a deep, calming, breath. It was now or never. She logged on and waited for someone to answer.

And she waited and waited.

Damn, how long did it take for them to operate a webcam?

Obviously forever. She hummed to herself lightly, trying to calm down. Of course they wouldn't blow her off.

Right?

There was a sudden clicking sound, and a man of small stature and looking slightly green in the face called her name.

"Kagome Higurashi?"

Kagome's face brightened and she beamed at the man. He flinched visibly; it was clear he wasn't used to such treatment. The room behind him clashed greatly with the man himself; he was wearing all dark colors, while the expensive looking furnishings of the lavish room behind him all were done in hues of gold and white.

"Yes, that's me," she chirped. Then her face turned to one of concern as she studied the cringing man. "Are you sick? Your face doesn't look so good. It has a green tint to it," she said worriedly.

"I'm fine," he snapped, "I was born this way."

Kagome turned red with embarrassment and looked down, muttering an apology. The little man waved it off with disinterest, and began talking.

"I regret to inform you, Miss Higurashi, that the previously scheduled interview will have to be postponed indefinitely," Kagome's face fell, comprehending the words. The man didn't seem to "regret informing" her at all. In fact, he looked quite pleased with himself. "You see, the position has already been filled." But at this, he glanced nervously to the side, and would not look at the girl on the screen.

Kagome mind filled with thoughts of failure. No, no, this couldn't be happening. Not now. Not when she was so close. Her stomach began aching with disappointment and she clutched her abdomen. He brain whirled around, and she started feeling dizzy. And then one thought popped unbidden into her brain.

This was unfair.

She felt her hands ball up into fists, and her face twisted with anger.

"Bullshit!" she screamed, directly into the microphone, thoroughly startling the poor man out of his tiny little mind.

"This is absolute BULLSHIT! I did NOT take off a day from work to stand in some GODFORSAKEN line for the ENTIRE day to be blown off my a man that seems to be three times smaller than me, and can't even muster up the kindness not to GLOAT while blowing me off!!!" she yelled, now standing up in righteous fury and glaring down at the screen.

"What do you think I am?!" she continued. "Some pawn at your beck and call?! I have a life too you know! Oh, wait, you wouldn't know, because obviously you stay holed up in the office all day!"

The man sat with his jaw hanging open, beady little eyes nearly popping out of his minuscule head.

"Where is your boss!? I want to talk with him!" she continued assaulting the man's ears. This final outburst seemed to calm her a bit, and she took deep breaths and regained her composure slightly.

The man seemed absolutely horrified of the idea of the woman on the screen talking to his superior, but a sharp command from somewhere in the distance was heard, and he scrambled over to a desk in a luxurious corner of the room.

On Kagome's screen, all she saw was a flurry of movement before there was thump and she stared at the new man on the screen.

The man she gazed at now had brilliant, golden, eyes like the sun, and strange, colored, beautiful tattoos on the sides of his face, along with a crescent moon that adorned his forehead. He would have been the epitome of beauty had it not been the icy glace he was directing toward her. And now that she thought about it, his hair matched his demeanor perfectly. It was as white as the chunk of ice his personality was trying so hard to imitate.

"Leave, Jaken," he said simply, and the little man rushed out of sight, with a look on his face that seemed he feared for his life. The beautiful man then turned his attention to the computer screen, which housed an image of a stunned Kagome.

"Know your place, wench. This Sesshoumaru does not take kindly to your unattractive brashness," he said coldly, but still with a wonderfully clear voice.

Kagome was at first indignant and almost started raving at him like she had his assistant. But upon hearing his name, ('_What's up with this guy's weird way of talking,_' she thought,) she racked her brain for the name to match up with something she knew. She gasped when the connection was made, realizing this was none other that the eldest son of the president of Taisho Inc., and a vice-president of the company in his own right.

Sesshoumaru smirked, knowing he had successfully intimidated the pathetic girl.

"Your so called 'interview' was an utter fluke," he said smugly, "My father seemed to have come under the ridiculous illusion that I was in need of a secretary. Your services are not needed, and never will be."

Kagome eyes narrowed at this rude statement, and powerful or not powerful, this guy was going to get it.

Hell hath known no fury like that of a scorned woman.

But before she could begin her little tirade, her stomach clenched again. Earlier she had assumed the reaction was an emotion-induced one, but she wasn't so sure now. Her stomach gave out an almost inaudible dissatisfied grumble, but Kagome ignored it for more pressing matters.

Like the pompous bastard currently occupying her computer screen.

"Now look here, mister," She pointed at him, glared, and hardened her resolve as the white-haired man looked off in the distance, as if the wall was more interesting than the fuming female on the screen. "You are going to hear me out, whether you want to or not. My moocher-of-a-brother is coming into town, my bank account is emptied, and I fought off demon-spawn and a rabid senior citizen to get my hands on a furry red puppet. I am not in the best of moods," she stated icily, borrowing Sesshoumaru's characteristic.

He lifted one elegant eyebrow, but otherwise didn't indicate he had heard her, so she took this as a prompt to continue, ignoring her stomach's slightly louder wails of discontent.

"I need a job, and I'll be damned if I don't get one. You can stick me in the mailroom for all I care, as long as it pays well," Kagome stated flatly.

She opened her mouth to begin again, but was interrupted by her stomach, which was tired of being blatantly ignored. Kagome's face turned an interesting shade of red, and the ice man let a slightly startled look settle upon his face.

"Uh, heh… that was... my washing machine," Kagome said hurriedly, face flustered, "Um… the repairman is supposed to come tomorrow…" she trailed off.

Sesshoumaru's face was once again impassive, and they both wouldn't look at each other: Kagome out of embarrassment, and Sesshoumaru out of boredom with the woman.

There was silence on both ends, until a particularly large rumble from the depths of Kagome's bowels pierced through the quiet.

"That noise was certainly not emitted from a household appliance, Miss Higurashi." Sesshoumaru quipped dryly.

Kagome suddenly went on the defensive.

"Well, if I had enough money, say, money from a good job, I could've bought food that doesn't make me sick!" Kagome said huffily. This wasn't exactly true, but it couldn't hurt to make him feel at least a little guilty. Actually, she had a sneaking suspicion that her beloved hotdogs had betrayed her.

Ok, ok, she had forgotten to check the expiration date.

"And if you were not such a shrieking nuisance, this Sesshoumaru may have given you the currency to dine," he shot back.

"Well, maybe you should buy me a dinner to make up for my lost effort and time!" Kagome said heatedly.

"Perhaps I should!" Sesshoumaru raised his voice angrily.

"Then meet me at the café on Nineth Street!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

Both parties angrily shut off they're computers, and stomped off in the general direction of their cars in a fit of rage.

---

**Heh heh, I couldn't resist. I absolutely HAD to write about the horror that is known as Christmas shopping.**

**Dun, Dun, Dun! The introduction of Sesshy! I did mention this was a SessKag, did I not?**

**And before you peeps start telling me how "out of character" or "OOC" Sess is, remember that people do things they normally wouldn't do when they're angry. Or, in Sesshy's case, indignant that a "mere wench" would stand up to him. Also, I can make him whatever I what, because this is my story, so nyah! -ducks angrily thrown Sess dolls-**

**Gasp! I just realized something! This is my first non-humor labeled piece of fiction! I have finally come to terms with the fact I'm not funny! –tears up- I'm so proud of myself…**


	3. Chapter 3

When both parties arrived at the diner, conveniently at the almost the same time, they got out of their cars and slammed the doors behind them. Sesshoumaru hid behind a car for a moment to regain his infamous poise, while Kagome just stalked to the eatery's front door, glaring furiously. She still hadn't calmed down.

"Are you coming or not?" She asked, watching her visible breath escape in the cold air. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes in disgust, and briskly walked over to where she was standing. He took hold of her shoulder, and glared down at her.

"Discontinue your incessant screeching, woman, or I will abandon you right here," he hissed.

This was not a particularly smart move on the part Sesshoumaru, as he soon found himself to be the recipient of a rather forceful slap connecting with his face. He looked at the woman standing in front of him, and stared in complete shock.

She dared to slap him? Who did she think she was?

Kagome was glaring at the stunned man, absolutely furious.

"First off, Mr. Tashio, you have NO right to treat me like that. Secondly, shut your mouth: you look like a fish."

Sesshoumaru snapped his mouth shut and clenched his jaw. He began telling himself multiple times in his head that it was **_not_** a good idea to kill her here, and that there were too many witnesses.

Kagome turned on her heel and marched into the diner, a smirk on her face.

She was stopped by Sesshoumaru's hand yet again on her shoulder, twirling her around. A vein was clearly visible on his head as he grimaced.

"Miss Higurashi, are you aware of you attire?"

"Ehhh….?" Was Kagome's intelligent reply. She looked down, fearing the worst.

And she got it.

She was still in her boxer shorts, complete with matching slippers, and her fancy top. Today was soooo not her day, she surmised. Kagome brought her hand up to her head and slapped her forehead as she slumped over in defeat.

"Drive through?" she suggested meekly, her head hanging down.

"I think that is an excellent suggestion," Sesshoumaru said as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Come, we will go in my vehicle, and once we have finished, I will drive you back to yours."

He sauntered over to his "vehicle" with Kagome obediently in tow, but she stopped short when she saw what he drove. She thought for sure it would be a fast, expensive convertible similar to the one that had hit her earlier, but no. And by the look of his smirk on his face while she was gawking, he immensely enjoyed throwing her for a loop.

The car before her looked even crappier that her own.

It seemed to be sagging on its pathetic looking wheels, almost as if it had abandoned all hope a long time ago at ever being good. The dry blue paint was giving up as well, flaking off the car near the bottom, and there was at least one visible crack in the rear windshield.

"You're joking."

That was the only solution, even though the thought of Mr. Icicle-Shoved-Up-Butt kidding was a wild stretch. Sesshoumaru simply unlocked his car, ducked into it, and leaned over to unlock her side.

"I assure, I do not jest," he said irritably. The wench's initial reaction had been amusing, but now it was making him annoyed. If she didn't get in the car, he couldn't pay for her dinner, and if he didn't pay for her dinner, he would be going against his word.

And this Sesshoumaru never went against his word. It was contrary to his honor.

Kagome was taken aback by the well-dressed man getting into the tired old car, but quickly got over it. She took a precarious step into his choice of transport and waited for the floorboard to crumble. When it didn't, she allowed the rest of her body to follow. She buckled her seatbelt and twiddled her fingers nervously. Hadn't her mother once told her to never get in the car with a stranger?

The man seated next to her backed out of his parking place with a scowl. Was his car really that bad? His father **_had_** been pestering him about getting a new one, but he had never given it that much thought before.

---

Kagome looked over at the mighty corporate leader that made thousands bow to his will each and every day.

He was sulking.

Their only conversation had consisted of clipped tones, and in a few short sentences, they had decided to stop at a nearby fast-food place. But now, she was curiously sneaking peeks at her impromptu driver.

And he was pouting in the most adorable way.

He was obviously still upset about her reaction to his car. Kagome had to resist the sudden urge to squish the man in a hug. She thought to herself, _'He almost looks like an abandoned puppy,'_ and had to control her squeal over the cuteness over it all.

"Is there something amiss, or do you always twitch uncontrollably in other people's cars," Sasshoumaru said contemptuously.

Ok, all thoughts of fluffiness were **_officially_** gone.

"I'm fine!" Kagome snapped, being brought back to earth from her musings.

Sesshoumaru raised a disbelieving eyebrow as he pulled into the drive through. A crackling voice came on the speaker, grating against their ears.

"May I help you?"

The white-haired man gazed at Kagome expectantly. She sighed and leaned over the center console, yelling her order to the speaker.

Once said process of food-ordering was complete, they drove around to collect her meal at the window, only to find an all-too-familiar face.

"Inuyasha?!" Kagome said disbelievingly, "Since when did you work here?"

"Kagome?!" Inuyasha retorted with just as much disbelief, "When did you start going out with my brother? I thought his hormones had gone completely dormant…"

Kagome turned a lovely shade of crimson and denied it, but then something Inuyasha had said struck her.

"…Brother?" she asked.

"HALF brother," Sesshoumaru quickly corrected her. Kagome pointed back and forth between the two, a dumbstruck look clearly written on her features, and all she managed to get out was a,

"No way."

Inuyasha laughed, and explained.

"Yes way," he said, "I was just never one to follow in people's footsteps, so I broke away from the family tradition, thereby not seeing my family much, and thus you not seeing my family much."

Way to leave out the details, Inuyasha. But, he never was one to fully explain things, so she sighed and left it at that.

Inuyasha looked in the car, and seeing Kagome's state of dress, just **_had_** to comment.

"Cute shorts," he said jokingly with a wink.

"Oh, shut up," Kagome pouted and crossed her arms.

"You forgot to change and ran out of the house again, didn't you?" Inuyasha said teasingly.

"Maybe…" she mumbled. Sesshoumaru had watched this exchange in silence, then spoke up in the lull of the conversation.

"I am rather of the opinion that they resemble Jaken," he said in a dead-serious voice. Kagome looked at him horrified. "What? Do you not like me speaking of my subordinates in such a manner?" He asked curiously.

"No, that's not it," Kagome sputtered. "Well, I guess that too… But," she continued," My shorts are way cuter than Jaken!"

Inuyasha shook his head and laughed, while Sesshoumaru simply stared, completely baffled at the girl's strange behavior.

"Well, if you two aren't going out, what are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, going back to their previous discussion and holding out their bag of food that had been finally delivered to the take-out man.

Sesshoumaru and Kagome blankly looked at each other.

Why were they here again?

"Something about…an upset stomach…?" Kagome supplied. This train of thought, however, was interrupted by a series of honks coming from the drive through lane behind them, informing them they should get a move on. In response, Sesshoumaru simply snatched the bag from his younger brother's hand, and sped off.

Well, as much as a decrepit old car could speed off.

---

When Sesshoumaru came back to the office from his venture, and Jaken saw the slight smile on his boss's face, he was absolutely certain of one thing:

The world was coming to an end.

---

When Kagome walked through her front door and began getting ready for work that night, she was utterly positive on one thing:

There wasn't a more arrogant jerk in the world as Sesshoumaru.

No, he hadn't tried anything, (personally, she was much of the same opinion as Inuyasha that his hormones were in permanent hibernation) but the whole car ride home, he made every snide comment he could. All in all, she was ecstatic that she hadn't gotten the nonexistent job.

She changed into her work outfit, a white button down shirt with a red tie and black slacks, and headed out the front door and off towards the French Dove.

When she arrived, she was barreled over in a giant hug.

"You're here!" her attacker cried joyously, "It's been so boring without you!" Kagome laughed and pushed the small boy off of her.

"It's good to see you too, Shippou," Kagome told the boy of about sixteen or so with a shock of orange hair. "You have no idea how horrible my day's been."

Shippou was the host at the restaurant, the one who greeted you and took your name down on the list, but he was hoping to become a waiter soon, like Kagome. She was the one who had gotten him the job in the first place, and he looked up to her like a big sister.

Shippou grimaced visibly. "Well, it's not going to get any better. Guess who the head chef is tonight?"

"Oh, no, please don't tell me…" Kagome said with dread. Shippou nodded his head gravely.

"Kouga," they said simultaneously. A yelp was heard from the direction of the kitchen, and soon a dark-haired man sprinted over to them.

"Did someone say my nam– Oh, my woman is here!" he cried enthusiastically, grabbing Kagome's hands with his own.

Kagome tuned Kouga out, as he was no doubt telling her how she would be his, and she tried to keep the pained expression off of her face. Shippou came to her rescue however, and Kouga's marriage demand, yes, demand, not proposal, was interrupted.

"C'mon Kags, you've to check in," Shippou said while forcibly pulling said girl from the man with a wolfish grin on his face. Kagome brightened at the supply of an excuse to get away, and finished prying her hands out of Kouga's.

"That's right, if I don't, they'll count me late," she said while skipping off with Shippou.

---

Kagome slumped down into her car. The rest of the night had gone similarly, attempting to do her job while dodging Kouga, but he seemed to be everywhere. He was in rare form that night, rushing around and popping up when she least expected it.

She drove to a nearby gas station and picked up some snacks for what she was about to do. With this task done, she drove towards the mall, and when she arrived at her destination, she went trunk-diving (c'mon, you know you've done it too) and pulled out a folding lawn chair.

Souta would be really disappointed if he didn't get what he wanted.

She set up camp at the end of the line outside the electronic store she had visited earlier in the day. She looked down the queue, counting in her head. Good, only eight people in front of her; maybe she actually had a shot at nabbing one.

A man that looked slightly younger than her and dressed in a Link costume turned from his position on his inflatable green chair to offer her some chips. She happily accepted and munched away while striking up a conversation.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. How could you not love a cute friendly man in tights?

---

Kagome left early in the morning, a smile on her face, a Wii in hand (they had given out exactly ten), and the cute guy's number. She whistled a tune as she drove home, eagerly anticipating a nice, long, uninterrupted sleep. It was now 6:30 in the morning, and Kagome was of the firm opinion that no human being should be awake at this hour. She sleepily parked her car in the driveway and got out. She shuffled through the powder snow on the ground and opened her door, locking it behind her (did she mention the unavoidable panty-fiesta if she didn't?). She walked like the dead to her room, and flopped down on her bed, still fully clothed, shoes and all.

She was just about to fall into dreaming bliss when the phone rang. Did it have some grudge against her getting any sleep?

She sluggishly attempted to get up to answer it, but her body wouldn't obey her brain, and she stayed planted where she was. She was vaguely aware as she drifted off of the answering machine coming on and an all-too-chipper voice emanating from it.

---

**Can anyone guess who it is on the phone? It's a tricky one… Pie to whoever gets it right! **

**Oh, and right, I've run out of male characters, so I need some help in coming up with someone to be the Link guy. Anyone got any ideas? I may just end up making him an OC…**

**Hahaha, I'm looking over the chapter right now, and I love the way Sesshy talks; it's just so much fun making him be all proper and such!**

**Ok people, I'm really sorry, I meant to have the timeline in this story mirror real life, but due to circumstances I can not change, I have been super busy lately. So, what I'm trying to say is that Christmas in the story will come after Christmas in real life. Meh very sorry…**

**Please review! I feel like Kagome; I stayed up writing this and I'm about to fall asleep on my keyboard…**


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome awoke at about a quarter 'till noon, and rolled out of bed with a yawn. She sleepily got dressed and went to the kitchen to scrounge up breakfast.

Note to self: throw hotdogs away.

She successfully found a package of poptarts and put them on a paper plate. She had nothing to do today because she was off work on Sundays, and so she decided to sit down on the couch and watch some T.V.

She shuffled over, poptart in hand, and plopped down onto her couch. She was seated, rather uncomfortably at that, for about a grand total of 1.5 seconds before her couch sprung to life and threw her off.

Now, I don't know about yours, but her couch does not usually reject her in such a manner. However, her puzzlement was soon dissipated by her brother getting up from his stretched position on the couch.

"Good morning!" he chirped.

Kagome ignored him and sat down again.

"Mphhh! Gwet moff mhee!"

"Oh, am I sitting on you head?" Kagome stated blandly, "Silly me." She got up and moved to the breakfast table. She was obviously not pleased with her brother's arrival.

"Aw, you missed me so much you couldn't help but smother me out of love! That's so sweet, Kags."

Insert death glare.

"Just please let me eat my poptarts in peace," Kagome said, before realizing her mistake.

"Oh! That reminds me! I haven't eaten since the flight," Souta said, "I'm starving!"

Kagome groaned and let her head fall with a thump to her small table.

Her self-pitying episode was interrupted the phone. She was seriously ready to kill the thing; it had been ringing at the most inopportune moments lately.

She walked over and jerked the phone to her ear.

"What?" she growled.

"Is this Kagome Higurashi speaking?" said a cool voice that sent shivers down her spine.

It was Naraku.

"Yes," she replied, "What can I do for you today, Mr. Naraku?"

"I was calling to inform you that your presence will be required in court in precisely three days. I am suing you."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm suing you."

"Ahgg… I heard you, but it's just that… but… my insurance company is supposed to take care of this!"

"And they would have, had the accident not been your fault."

"MY fault?! It was YOUR fault! You were the one who was speeding like crazy in a residential area and not paying attention to where you were going!"

"Not if my memory serves."

"Then your memory SUCKS!" Kagome screamed with outrage into the phone.

"There is no point in continuing this discussion now, Miss Higurashi, I will see you in court on Wednesday afternoon," Naraku said coldly.

Kagome opened her mouth to tell him just what she was going to do to him on that day, which involved a cement truck and a large body of water, when she was met with a dial tone.

Damn him.

She hung up the phone, went over to her meal, and started viciously biting into her poptarts. Souta looked over and wondered if he should bother her in her current state, but his curiosity got the better of him and he asked. She explained, and Souta listened avidly.

"It sounds suspicious, Kags," Souta told her afterwards, "There are all kinds of creeps out there today." Suddenly his face lit up. "That reminds me, I heard on the news this morning that there's a new kind of trick these psychos are pulling. They follow you around and flash their lights, like something's wrong with your car, and when you pull over to check it out, so do they, and, BAM!" Here Souta leapt toward Kagome, causing her to jump. "They grab you!"

Kagome clutched her pounding chest and socked Souta on the arm.

"Don't scare me like that!"

Souta simply laughed. Once he had finished his fit of giggles, he told her what happened when she was asleep that morning.

"Oh yeah, some guy named Hojo called," Souta began, "he said to meet him at the diner on Ninth Street at twelve today."

Kagome stood there and stared at her brother. She racked her brain for this 'Hojo'.

"Oh!" she snapped her fingers, "The Zelda guy!"

Souta looked at his sister like she had grown another head.

"What?"

"Oh, well I met him when I was at…" she trailed off, realizing she couldn't tell him about his own gift.

"Where?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…at a gas station…" she fumbled, saying the first thing that came to mind.

Souta stared at his sister like she had grown yet another head and now the two new additions were having a lovely chat about the weather.

"You met a date at the gas station?" he asked incredulously. "Wow, you must be desperate," he sniggered at her.

Kagome threw her hands up into the air, defeated, and she began to walk off. Then a thought struck her.

"What time is it?" she asked Souta.

"Hmm… about 11:55," he answered.

A trailing scream was echoed through the house as Kagome realized she had five minutes to get ready AND get there.

---

Kagome approached her house after the date with a yawn. Only one hour with the guy, and he was putting her to sleep. We're talking complete snoozefest here. Ok, he was nice, and he even brought her a little gift, but… I guess she was just looking for a little more excitement. She thought about it for a second, then pumped her fist in the air with victory as she was searching through her purse for her keys.

She got a free meal!

And she would _definitely_ need more food now that Souta was back. She dived her hand back into her crowded bag and emerged victorious only after a vicious battle between her lip gloss and cell phone that both just didn't seem to want to give her keys up.

She opened her door and walked into a disaster zone.

Her entire house looked like a bomb had gone off. There were plastic cups littering the floor everywhere. A stain that had toilet paper dumped sloppily over it, and several piles of vomit once she got to the kitchen. And there, sitting in all of its glory despite they were empty, were four kegs on the counter.

Kagome clutched her head in horror and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Her thoughts were all jumbled together. She knew that someone had thrown a party… but in just the hour she was gone? Impossible… nothing could get this trashed in simply an hour… right? And… they didn't leave anything in the keg for her!?! How could they?! She couldn't even get drunk and wallow in the misery of having a trashed house! Souta was sooo helping her to clean this up. Wait a second.

"SOUTA!!!"

A groan was issued from a heap in the corner of the living room. Souta was lying there on his face, half-empty red plastic cup still clutched in his hand. She found a semi-clean spot to put her purse down on the counter, and clenched and unclenched her fists as she trampled through the wreckage. When she reached her brother, he was now lying on his side, and she gave him a swift kick in the ass.

"How the hell did you do this to my poor house!?! And in only an hour no less!"

Souta clenched a hand to his abused bottom, and turned over on his back. He drunkenly stared at the ceiling then told his sister,

"Talent."

Kagome then proceed to promptly kick her brother out. The door was slammed in his face just seconds after his things were chucked out into the driveway.

---

Kagome made her way back to the kitchen, picking up trash as she went. Once she was there, she dumped it into the trash can. She was going to need a LOT more trash bags.

She glanced around the wreckage, wondering where to start first, and her eye was caught by the flashing light on the answering machine. She went over to it and pressed the button. She suddenly felt weary of the world as the machine listed the time and date of the message, and she put her elbows on the counter, propping her sagging head up with her hands. However, the person on the phone caused her jump up, staring disbelievingly at the machine.

"Hello Miss Higurashi, this is Mr. Tashio, president of Tashio Inc., speaking," a merry voice belted out at her, "I've heard of your little excursion with my ice-chunk-of-a-son, and since you put up with him so well, I have decided to make you his secretary. Don't worry, he has absolutely no say whatsoever in the matter."

Kagome came out of her stupor and snorted. Like she would ever be willing to work with Sesshoumaru. Right.

But Mr. Tashio continued, and when he casually mentioned the salary she would earn, she had already picked up the phone and was waiting for him to list a phone number she could call.

Once she had it, she anxiously waited as it rung. Was she too late? Had he found someone else?

A friendly female voice picked up on the second ring.

"Hello, this is Mr. Tashio's office. How may I help you?"

"Um, well I was returning his call and-"

Kagome was cut off as the woman interrupted.

"Ok then, I'll patch you right through."

Kagome tapped her nails on the counter along to the Christmas hold music, and her hope grew. Maybe she still could get the job.

"Hello, this is Tashio," the cheery voice from her machine broke through the Jingle Bells.

"Um, hello, Mr. Tashio, this is Kagome Higurashi," she said nervously into the receiver, "You left a message on my machine this morning regarding a job offer?"

The line was silent, then, "Ah! Of course! Have you decided to accept?"

Kagome could faintly hear a, "please say yes, please say yes," being mumbled under the man's breath. She had to resist the urge to laugh; apparently not many people were jumping at the idea of working with an egotistical sociopath.

"Yes."

"YES!!! When can you start!?!"

Kagome was a little taken aback by his wild enthusiasm, and had the distinct impression he was doing a happy dance.

"Um, I guess… anytime."

There was more shouting on the other end of the line, and Kagome imagined that if she was there, she would be the recipient of a bone-crushing bear hug.

"Come immediately, if not sooner, to my office and will have you all set up in no time."

"So does that mean Monday?"

"When is Monday?"

"Tomorrow."

"Monday it is! See you then!"

---

Kagome woke early to her alarm clock and snuggled into her fresh smelling sheets. She had changed them last night; who knows what happened at the party? She loved the smell of fresh laundry and she delved deeper into her covers, but her alarm continued to go off, and she rolled out of bed with a sigh to shut it off.

She got dressed quickly, a plain white button down with a black blazer, and this time with black slacks. No froggies today. Once she had finished getting ready, she made her way to the kitchen, dodging trash on the floor. She searched around for any food that had been spared, but alas, all she could find was one T.V. dinner, and she ended up eating spaghetti for breakfast.

She drove to her new office, only having one detour where her trusty MapQuest directions failed her, and pulled into the "visitors" section because she wasn't quite sure where to park yet. She walked into the large bustling lobby, complete with a three story high beautiful fountain. She walked around the busy first floor, a little dazed, but found her way to the elevator. After she had spoken to Mr. Tashio last night, he handed the phone over to his secretary to set her all up.

She found the elevator and shoved herself into the packed square room. She managed to slide her hand around the crush of people to press the 55th floor button, not noticing it had already been pushed. Someone coughed beside her, and she would have shuffled over if she had any room. The woman turned to face her.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" she said. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. "I've been sick for a while now; this is only my second day back. I hope I don't get you sick!" she said worriedly.

Kagome was slightly startled by the woman friendly demeanor while most of the other people on the elevator looked like they were about to kill someone.

Probably forgot their coffee this morning.

Anyway, as the higher they went, more people got off, and eventually they were the only ones left. When the elevator closed again of the 49th floor, the woman turned to Kagome and said in a curious tone,

"I haven't seen you around before; are you new?"

Kagome looked shyly around and answered in the affirmative.

"Ooooh!" the woman said excitedly, "Who're going to work for?"

Kagome's face twisted into an unpleasant expression.

"Sesshoumaru Tashio."

The other woman gaped, and then broke into a fit of giggles.

"So… you're… Kagome…?" she managed to choke out between her laughter. Kagome sighed, and the woman regained her composure and held out her hand to shake. "I'm Sango, Mr. Tashio's secretary. We talked on the phone yesterday," she smiled.

Kagome shook the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Sango," she said politely. So that's why her voice had sounded familiar.

The elevator pinged, and as the doors opened, they both stepped out into the extravagant room. Almost everything in there was a shade of silver or white. Only one thought ran through Kagome's mind.

Didn't it ever get dirty?

Sango ushered her into the office to the left, the one looking slightly bigger. Mr. Tashio was sitting at a desk frowning at his computer, but when he looked up to see who had entered, a grin spread from ear to ear on his face. He got up and vigorously shook hands with Kagome, all the while positively beaming.

"Miss Higurashi, I presume? I'm so glad to have you here today! My son has been in rare form this morning."

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "pain-in-the-ass-son" but Kagome pretended she hadn't heard. And then, once again, she was being pushed along, but this time in the direction of a door that she could only assume opened into the only other office she had seen on this floor.

---

"No. Absolutely not. This is not acceptable."

"Oh, quit your fussing, son. She's your new secretary whether you like it or not."

Kagome stood to the side of the lavish room, and she swore she heard a small growl emanate from Sesshoumaru's lips.

"Look," she said while beginning to set up on her new desk, "I don't like this either, but we're both just going to have to deal with it."

Tashio snuck out the door while his son's attention was elsewhere.

"If you are so much not in favor of this, then why are you here?" Sesshoumaru asked icily. Kagome rubbed her fingers together in the universal sign for money.

"Moolah," she said with a goofy grin.

"Are you some sort of cow now?" he asked with a smirk. Kagome slapped her forehead, exasperated.

"Not moo as in cow, moo as in-" she stopped when she saw him looking off in the distance, a bored expression clearly on his features. "You know what, never mind."

She had a feeling he wasn't very up-to-date on his slang, and whatever she said would go completely in one ear and out the other.

She was right.

"Hmm, did you say something, Miss Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru said nonchalantly, leaning casually against the wall.

This was going to be a hell of a long day.

---

**I am so sorry this is so late! Bay's birthday was a couple weeks ago and she got a ****Wii**** (I think she had hysterics when she unwrapped it), and so she refused to pry her little fingers off that remote and ****nunchuck**** to actually edit anything I sent her. So blame her! –****points**** accusing finger at Song-**

**Bay looked up the definition of sociopath (don't ask me why) and it said: "a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience." She immediately called me up and said, "YEEGADS IT'S SESS! It says antisocial and everything! ****HAHAHA!!!"**

**Yes, she's strange.**

**So basically I put the word in there to make her happy. ****Nyah**

**Oh! Did anyone get the South Park reference with the fountain in the lobby? ****Anyone?**** No? Ok… I'm a dork… It's official.**

**Heheheheh****… and yeah, I know I said 3 to 4 chapters, but… I ****dunno**** it just… got out of hand? It shouldn't be THAT much longer. At least I hope so.**


End file.
